Boiling point
by TheSunflowerkid
Summary: A look into the minds and hearts of six of Liberty High's students. School may be a battlefield for your heart but the worst losses happen at home.
1. Brian

Expectations

A wave of exasperation hit Brian and he slammed his head and fists into his desk, knocking his English textbook onto the floor. He regretted it immediately as he winced at the shooting pain in his hands and skull, nearly gasping. He clutched his desk with a white knuckled grip, maximizing his restraint to not make a noise.

No screaming or crying, he couldn't do any of that as much as he wanted to.

He knew he couldn't keep going like this but he had no choice. His parents never failed to remind him about the importance of an education.

Not just any education, an Ivy League education. His mother was Yale, his father Princeton, and his sister Harvard.

His parents never failed to mention their Harvard educated daughter and their Columbia bound son to anyone caught in their path. He was sure Patty Chase was sick of it already.

Brian was his parents miracle. They had his sister and tried for over a decade until he came along. By the time he was born, his sister was nearly out of the house and he was lavished with relentless attention and all the toys he could dream of. But it all came with equally intense expectations and more than once had Brian thought his parents "miracle" was his curse.

The throbbing in his head dulled and his vision adjusted to the darkened room. He looked down and realized he had destroyed his desk lamp during his tantrum, the all too familiar rush of shame pulsing through him as he tried his best to sweep up the pieces.

The only light came through his bedroom window, a street light giving him enough visibility to realize his hands were bruised with his index finger swollen and he already knew it was broken. He tried to figure out what to tell his mother, hoping she wouldn't notice.

Brian walked towards his window and stared at the Chase house. He wondered what it would be like to have parents who didn't expect anything from you, who didn't care about double majors or summer internships. All they cared about was that she came home on time and stayed out of trouble.

He almost resented Angela, she didn't know how good she had it.

Still, he could never bring himself to do it.

A tear fell from his eye and ran down his cheek. It was all too much for him to take and more tears quickly emerged, the saltiness stinging his cheeks.

He knew he could never be what his parents expected and he knew he loved Angela and she would never feel the same. He knew his lunch money would be stolen again tomorrow and he knew he'd feel sick to his stomach for the millionth time.

He knew no matter what he did, it could never heal the hole inside him, slowly draining away everything that mattered to him until he was an empty shell.

He broke his gaze from the house and threw himself facedown on his bed, burying his face in his pillow. When he was confident he wouldn't be heard, he allowed himself to cry as much as he needed to.

He knew it would be the only comfort he'd have for a long time.

**Authors note: Thank you Jody Barsch for your review. The feedback you gave me was very helpful and its encouraging that someone took time out of their day just to give it. **


	2. Sharon

Three weeks late. Sharon couldn't believe she hadn't noticed until now. She clutched her pillow as she laid sprawled on her stomach in bed before quickly pulling herself into a seated position.

Maybe she shouldn't do that. Not if she was right.

She thought back to the night she'd been with Kyle. They'd used protection, he waved around the condoms he kept in his car to reassure her, telling her there was no reason they couldn't have sex that night.

And of course it was now she remembered condoms could be damaged from hot or cold weather or if they got too old.

She had no idea how long they'd been in Kyle's glove compartment.

Sharon took a deep breath and tried not to get overwhelmed. There was a myriad of reasons someone could have a late period, stress being one of them. And with finals next month, that was a good possibility.

She took a deep breath, breathing in as deep as possible with both hands on her stomach.

When she placed them there, she tried to feel if there was any difference though she knew it would be too early to tell.

She couldn't have a baby. She couldn't. It would ruin her life, she'd be lucky to even finish high school.

Sharon took another deep breath.

Her parents had her at a young age but they'd gone to college and been married. Kyle made $4.50 an hour at Pizza Hut and Sharon couldn't even get a job for another year. How could they take care of a baby?

She thought about what he would say when he found out. _If_ he found out. There was no reason to alarm him yet.

Still, she felt the urge to call him and ask him to bring her a pregnancy test. But she knew there was the possibility her parents would hear her call.

Her parents.

What would they think?

Would they hate her? She'd heard of pregnant teenagers being kicked out by their parents but her parents would never do that to her, right? Surely they wouldn't get rid of their only child...

Maybe they'd be upset but be happy to be grandparents. It happened to a girl Sharon knew through her old church group and now the girl and her parents would bring the baby boy to church.

She tried to picture what her own baby could look like and she was surprised at how easy it was. Chubby cheeks with just the slightest amount of her red hair and Kyle's green eyes.

Maybe they could make it work. Maybe her parents would let her be homeschooled like the girl from the church group so she could stay with the baby. Maybe Kyle's mother would offer to help, she already stayed home for Kyle and his siblings anyways.

Maybe she and Kyle could attend college locally and raise their child in one of the family dorms. They still had those, right?

Maybe she and Kyle could get married before the baby was born.

The thought broke Sharon out of her reverie. She didn't even know if there was a baby and she was half way to picking out china patterns. It was a stupid idea, she was still only fifteen.

She didn't know why she even entertained the thought of it. Just several years earlier, she still believed in Santa Claus. How could she possibly be someone's mother?

Even if she was, she didn't have to have it, right? She knew of a girl who had the procedure and was back at school Monday, no worse for the wear. No one besides she and Kyle needed to know, they could pool together the money between them and be discrete.

She didn't like the idea and she laid back on her pillow, sighing. No, that wasn't going to work for her.

She told her that no matter what she did, she would make the right decision. There was too much at stake if she didn't.

She ate dinner with her parents that night, careful not to betray that she felt there was anything wrong. She told them she wanted to go to bed early that night and as she crawled underneath the comforter, she eyed the telephone on her bedside table in a moment of hesitancy before deciding against it. She would see him tomorrow anyways.

When she had her period the following morning, Sharon undoubtedly felt a sense of relief. But what surprised her was the twinge of sorrow that accompanied it. She knew it was for the better but as she flung her backpack over the shoulder and began to walk to the bus stop, she couldn't help but feel a sense of grief.

**Authors note: By no means do I mean to romanticize teenage pregnancy. I wrote this after reading what was supposed to happen to Sharon if there had been a second season where she was going to have an arc dealing with an unplanned pregnancy as teen pregnancy was at its peak in the early 1990s and the issue wasn't covered on television the way it is today.**


End file.
